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You know that winters here in Ohio are really tough, and cold weather puts a lot of stress on every part of your vehicle. Is yours ready? Here’s a quick checklist to consider:
Battery: Sub-freezing temperatures slow down the chemical process that enables your battery to store and deliver electricity. Couple that with the fact that motor oil thickens in cold weather, making it harder to turn the engine over, and you can understand why your battery needs to be in great shape before it gets cold and nasty out.
Tires: All-season tires are great until you get a few inches of snow on the ground. Winter tires, on the other hand, are designed with a more aggressive tread pattern to dig into snow and slush and move it behind the tire’s contact patch to avoid hydroplaning. Winter tires are also made with a softer tread compound that stays flexible in extreme cold, for traction.
Wipers: This one seems like a no-brainer, but a lot of people forget about their wipers until it gets nasty out. Even good quality wipers can only last about a year – if yours are looking cracked, dried-out or are losing strips of rubber, replace them for safety’s sake.
Cooling system: Your cooling system prevents freeze-ups as well as boilovers. Coolant is a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and distilled water; while it contains anti-corrosion agents, it still loses its effectiveness over time. Regular flushes and refills of the cooling system will help prevent corrosion and scale from accumulating in your radiator, water pump, and heater core. Not sure when your last coolant flush was? Our technicians can easily check the coolant’s condition using a hygrometer.
Motor oil: Starting off with clean motor oil this winter is just a good idea. If you’ve considered switching to synthetic oil, this might be a good time to do it. One of the many benefits of synthetic as compared to conventional oil is that it doesn’t thicken in cold weather, meaning that it can circulate to upper engine components much more quickly on startup.
We hope you’re planning ahead for winter driving in Ohio – make an appointment with us at Van’s Tires & Service and let us help you make sure!
If you’re in Akron or Streetsboro, OH and looking for great deals on auto repair and premium-brand tires, you’ve come to the right place with Van’s Tires & Service. You can count on us for unbeatable prices, fast and thorough auto repair and friendly, honest customer service with no hidden charges, no runaround, and no hassles. We stock a wide range of tires from Goodyear and more, in an assortment of sizes for various fitments. We want the chance to earn your business – schedule an appointment with us today.
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